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(No Model.) I

'D. P. GERBEREUX. CHOCOLATE DIPPING TRAY.

No. 596,153. Patented Dec. 28,1897.

INVENTOR WITNESSES: W W

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UNTTEE STATES PATENT @EETQE.

DENIS F. GERBEREUX, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

CHOCOLATE-DIPPING TRAY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 596,153, dated December 28, 1897. Application filed January 2,1897. Serial No. 617,820. (No model.)

- which the following is a full, clear, and exin their construction.

act specification.

. My improvement relates to that class of devices used in the manufacture of chocolate cream drops and other confections which have an exterior coating of chocolate or other material. Its object is to provide a simple, durable, and inexpensive device for dipping the articles to be coated into the coating solution.

- I-Ieretofore chocolate-dippers have been made provided with pockets or cups constructed of bent wires bisecting each other and soldered or otherwise secured together at their lowest points, thus forming rigid receptacles having their bottoms practically closed. These devices are open to several objections, one of which is the amount of labor necessary coating material becomes lodged at the point Where the wires are joined at the bottom of the cup and is with difficulty removed when it is desired to clean the tray. Another obvjection is that cups so constructed cannot be adjusted to accommodate different-sized candies. It is to overcome these objections and to secure other advantages that my device is intended; and to this end it consists of the features of construction and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, reference to which is had herein, like letters refer to like parts in each view.

Figure 1 is a perspective View of a chocolate-dipping tray embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a top View of a corner of the tray cut away. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one of the drop-holders with a drop lodged therein. Fig. 4 is a View of a portion of one of the wires of which the holders are constructed with portions of the transverse wires attached thereto, showing the manner in which the said wires are interwoven.

The frame A is rectangular in form and is composed of a continuous piece of material,

preferably wire, the parts A serving as handles and the parts A as feet for the entire Another is that the.

device. The bends a between the handles and feet afford a means of attaching the frame B,which is secured at its four corners thereto.

On one side of the frame B the cover 0, composed ofa rectangular frame O,with wires 0 strung across it, is hinged by means of the hooks c 0, so that it may be readily removed. This cover is adapted to be used for the purpose of removing the drops from the holder, as will be hereinafter described.

Strung across the frame B are the longitudinal bars D and the transverse bars D, the former somewhat larger than the latter, dividing the tray into rectangular sections, strengthening the same and also supporting the longitudinal wires E and transverse wires E, of which the drop-holders are constructed. The upper edges of these bars are above the level of the wires, so that when the cover 0 is closed down it will rest upon these edges and thus be prevented from coming in contact with the drops. These wires are secured at either end to the sides of the frame B, preferably by coiling their ends around the said frame, and extend at right angles to the sides to which they are attached across the frame. The transverse wires pass through interstices d, provided therefor in the upper side of the longitudinal bars D, and the longitudinal wires are attached to the under side of the transverse bars D by soldering or other suitable means. These latter bars also pass through the bars D, the interstices (1 being provided therefor. The wires E and E are bent at stated intervals, so as to form V- shaped fingers or prongs f, the said prongs being arranged opposite each other on the parallel wires, thus forming parallel rows-of prongs or fingers.

Beginning at the foursides of the frame the rows of fingers nearest to the said sides are bent inwardly-and the rows next adjoining them are bent outwardly, so that the opposite fingers on each wire converge. This alternate inward and outward bending of the fingers is continued throughout the entire tray in both the longitudinal and transverse wires forming the rows of holders F, each consisting of four converging fingers and presenting the appearance of a truncated cone. The Wires on crossing each other between the fingers are interwoven in basket-work fashion, as indicated in Fig. 4,and preferably secured together by soldering, so as to insure them against changing their relative positions to each other. As will be clearly seen, the arrangement of these return-bends of wire forms a series of bottomless receptacles. By this means the end of the caramel is permitted to project through or below the extreme ends of the fingcrsf. This bottomless receptacle is one of the main features of my invention, as all other devices having closed ends cause the drop to adhere to the wires at that point, thereby, when it is removed, destroying its symmetry. The points of the fingers, being free,possess a certain amount of resilience an d are also adjustable, the openings between them being capable of enlargement or contraction by bending the fingers backward or forward at will, thus adjusting the same to different-sized drops to be placed therein.

In operating this device the cream drops or other candies to be coated are placed in the holders F and the cover C closed down. The tray is then taken up by the handles A and dipped into the coating solution until the drops are entirely submerged. Itis then withdrawn and the drops removed, preferably by inserting a sheet of paper or other like ma terial beneath the cover, then reversing the tray and jarring it until the drops are shaken loose from the holders. The tray is then ready to be used again.

What I claim is 1. A tray for coating confections comprising a series of holders secured to a frame and having open bottoms each holder composed of a plurality of fingers engaging each other at the upper surface of the tray, projecting downwardly on convergent lines and having their lower ends free.

2. A tray for coating confections comprising a series of holders secured to a frame and having open bottoms each holder composed of a plurality of fingers engaging each other at the upper surface of the tray and projectin g downwardly on convergent lines, and having their lower ends free, each finger being composed of a continuous piece of material.

3. A tray for coating confections compris ing a series of holders and a frame to which the holders are attached, said holders composed of wires intersecting each other on the nppersnrface of the tray, and being bent, between the said points of intersection, to form V-shaped fingers, each holder being composed of two or more of said fingers projecting downwardly and converging; said fingers having their lower ends free.

4. In a tray for coating con fections,the combination of the holders F, having open bottoms, the frame 13, to which the said holders are attached and the frame A, composed of a contin nous piece of material supporting the same and having npwardlybent portions forming rigid handles and extending beyond the frame.

DENIS F. GERBEREUX.

Witnesses:

S. J. Cox, Jr., ADoLrnn 01m. 

